Josephson qualifies for NJCAA Nationals

Alexandria's Connor Josephson will represent Legends Golf at the NJCAA DII National Championship in the spring with a fourth place finish at the Region IV Men's Golf Tournament on Oct. 7.

Josephson finished in a tie with teammate Lukas Justesen of Detroit Lakes at 229. Their match went into extra holes where Josephson won the first hole and took fourth place earning him a trip to Nationals. Justesen will be first alternate. Jayme French of West Fargo, North Dakota, is second alternate golfing a 72, 80 and 78 for 230.

"It was a great experience being there with my teammates," Josephson said. "I'm glad I was able to get fourth and represent my team at Nationals, even though it was very tough watching Lukas lose in the playoff and not having him be able to play with me at Nationals."

"Other than struggling to figure out the greens, it was an awesome tournament," Justesen said. "It was tough losing in the playoff and being the first alternate to go to Nationals. I'm excited though that Connor got fourth and is headed to Nationals. I'm excited to watch him compete."

The Legends team was rounded out by Evan Dietz  who had a 77 the final day, which was a huge boost to the team. Hunter Brunkow struggled with some swing issues at 266.  

"I'm very proud of all of our golfers," Legends Head Coach Scott Dirck said. "For the first time seeing the golf course and not getting any practice rounds, I thought the guys did very well. It was one of the hardest golf courses I've seen. Played 7,000 yards and every pin was tucked."

The Legends as a team posted a final score of 935 for fifth place.

Weather was a challenge throughout the weekend with wet conditions. The Legends finished day one at 306, which was 18 over par for four players. Day two was a challenge for all tournament golfers and most team scores went up by 20 strokes.

"By the end of the second round, we had a good feeling on how this golf course needed to be played," Dirck said. "As a team, we came up with a very good game plan for the last day: Lay back on the par fives, attack the middle of the greens, and stay away from the pins."

The Legends were the low score of day three with a 304.

The Legends Men's Golf team will finish out the fall season with competing at the NJCAA DII National Preview Tournament Oct. 18 and 19 at Twin Hills Golf and Country Club in Joplin, Mo.